The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines massacre as “the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty” or “a cruel or wanton murder” (m-w.com). Essentially a massacre results in either the death of many people or death by cruel means. The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770, in Boston, Massachusetts and involved American colonists and British troops. The colonists, upset by recent laws enacted by the British, taunted a smaller group of British soldiers by throwing snowballs at them (Boston Massacre Historical Society). In response, the soldiers fired upon the unarmed colonists leaving five people dead and six wounded (Phelan, 131). Even though the event in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which blood was shed, and called the Boston Massacre, the actions which took place on that day did not constitute a massacre. Since only five people were killed and six wounded and there was no evidence of cruelty, the name Boston Massacre was likely a propaganda ploy by Samuel Adams to rally the colonists against the British instead of a true massacre. After the French and Indian War ended, England had massive debt and little revenue, so Parliament passed laws taxing the American colonists to aid in paying for the British army and navy that helped protect the colonies. Parliament passed a series of laws, including the Sugar Act and Stamp Act, which taxed goods purchased by the colonists. Colonial merchants, who did not feel they should be taxed without representation in Parliament, signed non-importation agreements promising not to buy or import British goods. There was a lot of violence committed on the customs officials who were enforcing the... ... middle of paper ... ...t day, not purposeful wanton murders. Using the term massacre to describe what happened to the colonists was a successful propaganda ploy by Samuel Adams to rally the colonists against the British, eventually resulting in American independence. Works Cited Boston Massacre Historical Society. Boston Massacre Historical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. Lukes, Bonnie L. The Boston Massacre. California: Lucent Books, 1998. Print. "Massacre." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. Merriam-Webster Online. 18 Nov 2009. Phelan, Mary Kay. The Story of the Boston Massacre. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1976. Print. Smith, Robert. The Infamous Boston Massacre. United States: Crowell-Collier Press, 1969. Print. Zobel, Hiller B. The Boston Massacre. New York: Norton and Company, 1970. Print.
My original thoughts on the Boston Massacre were that the name rang true. I based these thoughts solely on the idea that no matter how colonist act, the military should never use excessive force in maintaining the peace. During my closer review of the actual event I have come to believe this has been given the name massacre in error. When you look at all of the depositions together and then start to take out the differences you will notice that everyone account of the event is nearly the same. The differences that are evident during the trial have been made by biased opinions and propaganda to promote the release of British troops from Boston. Although the ruling may not have been just, it served its purpose and drew the troops away from Boston in the end.
After the French and Indian War, Great Britain was in tremendous debt and had additional land to rule. By cause of their debt and their obligation to their new land, they began to put taxes on the colonists living in that land. The colonists were enraged because they were getting taxed without representation in British Parliament. Two acts that caused some of these reactions are the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. Overall, British actions after 1763 caused numerous reactions from the colonists, which led to the American Revolution.
I read a book about the Boston Massacre the was originally named the bloody massacre. The amount of killed persons is generally accepted to be 5 people. The Fifth of March is a 1993 novel about the Boston Massacre (of March 5, 1770) by historian and author Ann Rinaldi, who was also the author of many other historical fiction novels such as Girl in Blue and A Break with Charity. This book is about a young indentured servant girl named Rachel Marsh who finds herself changing as she meets many people, including young Matthew Kilroy, a British private in the 29th regiment.
Without colonial consent, the British started their bid to raise revenue with the Sugar Act of 1764 which increased duties colonists would have to pay on imports into America. When the Sugar Act failed, the Stamp Act of 1765 which required a stamp to be purchased with colonial products was enacted. This act angered the colonists to no limit and with these acts, the British Empire poked at the up to now very civil colonists. The passing of the oppressive Intolerable Acts that took away the colonists’ right to elected officials and Townshend Acts which taxed imports and allowed British troops without warrants to search colonist ships received a more aggravated response from the colonist that would end in a Revolution.
On March 5th, 1770 the colonists were going to protest against the British rule because they were being unfair to the colonists, with taxes being passed without the colonists’ approval. The proclamation of 1763 didn’t help stopping people from settling across the Appalachian mountains even though people fought for it. Also each house had to house and feed a soldier. Many other taxes on different items also caused colonists to be angry. Many started to protest one of these protests had the colonists in front of government building with weapons the British soldiers then fired killing five and injuring others. There was not a massacre on March 5, 1770 in Boston because there was not a massacre on March 5, 1770 in Boston because less than ten colonists
After the Seven Year War, Britain now needed to find ways to generate money, and felt that since the war was fought on American land that they should help pay for its cost, and they decided to issue new taxes on the colonies trying to offset some of the cost of the war. One of the first acts they presented was the Sugar act in 1764, lowering the duties on molasses but taxed sugar and other items that could be exported to Britain. It also enforced stronger laws for smuggling, where if prosecuted, it would be a British type trial without a jury of their peers. Some Americans were upset about the Sugar Act because it violated two strong American feelings, first that they couldn't be tried without a jury of their peers, and the second that they couldn't be taxed without their consent.
Godbeer, Richard. The Salem Witch Hunt A Brief History with Documents. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins 2011
The imperial tactics of the British Empire were exercised on the colonists through heavy taxes trade restrictions because of their mercantilist economy. The Stamp Act taxed the colonists directly on paper goods ranging from legal documents to newspapers. Colonists were perturbed because they did not receive representation in Parliament to prevent these acts from being passed or to decide where the tax money was spent. The colonists did not support taxation without representation. The Tea Act was also passed by Parliament to help lower the surplus of tea that was created by the financially troubled British East India Company. The colonists responded to this act by executing the Boston Tea Party which tossed all of the tea that was imported into the port of Boston. This precipitated the Boston Port Act which did not permit the colonists to import goods through this port. The colonists protested and refused all of these acts which helped stir the feelings of rebellion among the colonists. The British Mercantilist economy prevented the colonists from coin...
The Boston Massacre was an incident on King street where 5 male civilians were killed by British Army soldiers. The Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. The colonists were at fault. The colonists threw snowballs with rocks inside of them. The colonists caused war by using snowballs as an weapon to hit the British soldiers with. The outcome of the colonists actions caused 5 males to get shot and 6 other injured. A total of 11 civilians were hurt. Not all 5 males died on sight though. Some of the civilians died because other illnesses plus the gunshot wound.
The British also implemented new taxes. The Sugar act of 1764 sought to reduce smuggling, which occurred partly as a result of the earlier Molasses Act. This gave British possessions in the Caribbean the upper hand in sugar trade, which in the British view helped the empire as a whole, but to Americans, and especially the merchants, this put limits on their opportunities. The Currency Act, passed about this time forbade the printing of colonial currency. British merchants benefited because they didn't have to deal with inflated American currencies. The Americans felt they were at an economic disadvantage as very little sterli...
On March 5, 1770 a fight broke out in the streets of Boston, Massachusetts between a patriot mob and British soldiers. Citizens attacked a squad of soldiers by throwing snowballs, stones and sticks. British Army soldiers in turn killed five civilians and injured six others. The presence of British troops had been stationed in Boston, the capital of Province of Massachusetts Bay since 17681. The British existence was increasingly unwelcome. The British troops were sent to Boston in order to protect and support the crown-appointed colonial officials attempting to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation.
After the Seven Years Way England was broke for she had spent more money needed to win the war. Also winning the war gave the colonist a “we can do it spirit”. However because England now was facing debt she decided to tax the colonies. One the first acts passed was the sugar act passed in 1764. This Act was the raise revenue in American colonies. What it did was lowered the tax from six penses to three penses per gallon on foreign molasses. Molasses is a product made by refining sugarcane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. This upset the colonist because before the sugar act they didn’t have to pay the tax so even if it was lowered that meant nothing for they now had to pay for it. A year later, in 1765, the Britain’s passed another act known as the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act put a tax on stamped paper, publications, playing cards, etc. Because it was on all paper products in a way it affected everyone; from the papers for the upper class such as lawyers, publications such as newspapers for the middle class, and playing cards for the lower class for entertainment. Next, the Townshend Act passed by Charles Townshend. This came in 1767, which imposed taxes on colonial tea, lead, paint, paper, and glass which just like the Stamp Act affected all of the classes in the colonist in the Americas. Though this act was removed three years later in 1770, it still left colonists with a warning that conditions may become worse. Around 1773, parliament passed the Intolerable Acts one of those acts which affected taxation was the Bost...
Brooks, Rebecca B. "The Boston Massacre." History of Massachusetts. N.p., 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
The boston massacre was definitely a large event in the history of the United States of America, it was one of the main things that lead to the American Revolution. There are multiple things that could be responsible for the Boston massacre, but as far as it goes I believe that it was an accident, and that the lives lost were for good reason. I hope that my essay helped to see that it could have been intentional. There was so much that happened on that day it is still hard to tell what really happened during the boston massacre, intentional or
One of the most known events in history to happening Boston . The only event ever to happen like this. The historical event that earned the title of the incident on king street named by the British personally. The one event where British soldiers were ready for an attack and colonists were prepared to strike and defend their opinions the event were you couldn’t imagine it happening in front of you, but could really picture it happening to the colonist and the British. So Today we’re going to be going into a historic event to see what sparked it all , what happened during it ? And what was the aftermath of the event? Today we’re taking a look back in history To Learn about , The Boston Massacre.